NLEX.COM.PH

METRO PACIFIC TOLLWAYS CORP. (MPTC) has submitted to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) its proposal to expand the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), as part of its plan to implement a barrierless toll collection system across its expressways by 2027.

“We already informed the government that we are intending to expand it (NLEX),” MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Ma. K. Lim told reporters on Aug. 6.

“We have recently submitted to the government the multi-lane free flow that will allow us to go barrierless,” he added.

He said the company’s earlier proposal to build a skyway along NLEX is also under engineering review.

“We need to have it (barrierless) approved by the government. They will review our proposal to see whether it is acceptable — the cost and the impact on the motorist are acceptable, as well as the amount and the mechanism of the return on investment,” Mr. Lim said.

Once approved, Mr. Lim said, a barrierless toll system can be expected on all the company’s toll roads.

“Once it is approved [maybe we can implement] by two years. If it is approved by the end of the year, then by 2027,” he said.

MPTC said it will allocate up to P10 billion for the implementation of a barrierless toll system.

The first stage of the barrierless system will be the implementation of cashless transactions, followed by interoperability or the introduction of a unified radio frequency identification (RFID) wallet system along expressways.

Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation postponed the full implementation of cashless toll collection indefinitely.

The government, through the TRB, said the implementation of cashless toll collection is needed for the planned electronic toll collection interoperability. The TRB also plans to introduce a unified RFID wallet system that can be used across tollways.

Mr. Lim said the MPTC has also secured the concession for the expansion of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX).

The company is planning to expand both ends of CCLEX, linking it to Bacalso and Lapu-Lapu to connect with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

“In fact, we have already acquired the LLEX (Lapu-Lapu Expressway) concession to build the connection between the bridge and the airport. So, we are addressing the problems in Cebu,” he said, noting that the tollway arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) will tap a partner for this project.

In 2024, MPTC said it was negotiating with a European company for the expansion of CCLEX, noting that the foreign investment may range from P5 billion to P10 billion.

The expansion of CCLEX is part of MPTC’s strategy to make the expressway viable, as it currently reaches only 30% of its projected traffic volume and struggles to meet the target of 50,000 motorists per day, the company said earlier.

MPTC is the tollway subsidiary of MPIC, one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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